winemaking - Seguin Moreau Napa Cooperage

winemaking
Using Oak Adjuncts With Barrels
Curtis Phillips
Curtis Phillips, an editor for Wine
Business Monthly since 2000, is a
graduate of UC Davis, has been
a winemaker since 1984 and an
agricultural consultant since 1979. To
contact him with feedback or ideas
about his winemaking column, email
[email protected].
it comes to winemaking. On a professional level, I’m always interested in winemaking
processes; but when it comes to evaluating the product itself, I focus on
the end result, the wine in the glass.
Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with making wine—I’ve shoveled so
much pomace and stacked so many barrels—that it’s really hard for
me to romanticize winemaking. It’s a back-breaking job. If one is wellfinanced, they can foist that effort off onto someone else, but that doesn’t
make the job any less grueling.
Because I’ve spent so much time on the other side of the cellar door,
I have little patience with the pontifications of the vinorati (i.e., wine
writers). Not that they are all clueless: a few appear to make a decent
effort to remain as objective as possible and to evaluate wines honestly. A
few seem to be simple grifters looking to capitalize on the ignorance of
others. Most of the rest seem to have so idealized wine and winemaking
that they have taken on a too-bright-in-the-eye puritanism and religious
fervor regarding what should be a commonplace beverage.
I’M PRETTY PROCEDURE-AGNOSTIC WHEN
Oak Adjuncts and Economics
The use of oak in wine is one of the great touchstones of these differing
views. Outside the wine industry, and even inside it, oak adjuncts are
usually seen as an underhanded, cost-cutting measure. As a consequence, although oak adjuncts are used at all strata of the wine industry,
for reasons spanning from wine quality to economics, it’s a subject that
is avoided by all but a few winemakers.
While I think winemakers are justified in their fear that the use of oak
adjuncts “sends the wrong message,” a vinorati’s current favorite wine
would swiftly become anathema should the consumer media “discover”
that some of those vanilla notes came from something added to the wine
rather than from a container (barrels) into which the winemaker put the
wine. It is unfortunate that this is the case—although that is changing to
some extent.
In my experience, while oak adjuncts are used at all levels of winemaking, how a particular winery uses them varies a great deal by the
target price point of the final wine. Over the years, the price point at
which barrels are simply too expensive to use has been rising (WBM
Barrel & Oak Survey, December 2013). These days, I generally consider
any wine with a target shelf price under $24 as a bad candidate for a
traditional élevage. The cost of top-end French oak barrels adds about
$4 per bottle. This isn’t a prohibitive expense for every wine, and the
added cost per bottle can be cut quite a bit by reducing the amount of
new barrels purchased and by shopping for less expensive barrels. Even
with these reductions, however, it’s easy to see how it’s difficult to put a
low-priced and barrel-aged wine on the market.
SEGUIN MOREAU NAPA COOPERAGE
Oenostick barrel inserts, designed for balanced new oak extraction
18 April 2014 WBM
Oak Adjuncts and Barrels
Barrels have two functions in winemaking. The most obvious is the tannin
and aromatics that are extracted from a new barrel into the wine. Barrels
are more than mere flavoring agents, however. Traditional barrel aging
(élevage) puts the wine into a micro-oxidative environment. This environment can be mimicked in tanks using a micro-oxygenation (MOX) dosage
unit. To successfully mimic barrel aging, MOX takes a moderate amount
of expertise and a large amount of attention on the part of the winemaking
staff. This may lie beyond the abilities or budget of many small- and midsized wineries.
Nadalié France since 1902
Nadalié USA since 1980
INNERSTAVE
Innerstave Cubes: Using an oak infusion tube, cubes can be inserted
into used barrels to replenish the oak flavors.
As an alternative to either using oak adjuncts in tank without MOX,
installing and using MOX equipment in conjunction with in-tank oak
adjuncts or élevage in new barrels, many wineries use in-barrel oak adjuncts.
Most oak adjuncts that are used with barrels share similar advantages
and disadvantages compared with using either new barrels or in-tank oak
adjuncts. Compared to relying solely on a constant influx of new barrels
for oak tannins and aromatics, in-barrel oak adjuncts tend to be much less
expensive, even when the additional labor costs for using them are factored
in. In-barrel oak adjuncts also encourage the winemaker to exert far finer
control over the amount, type, and toast of oak used. Compared to in-tank
oak adjuncts, using oak adjuncts in conjunction with “neutral” barrels has
the advantage of producing essentially the same level of micro-oxidation as
a traditional élevage in new barrels without having to use, and monitor, an
in-tank MOX system.
The main disadvantages of using in-barrel oak adjuncts are that they
require additional labor when compared to using new barrels. The in-barrel
alternatives effectively lower the capacity of the barrel by anywhere from 1 to
2 gallons. This may be a trivial amount for a small winery, but a large barrel
program can be faced with a significant reduction in storage capacity.
www.nadalie.com
NADALIÉ USA
1401 Tubbs Lane
Post Office Box 798
Calistoga, CA 94515
Tel. 707 942 9301
Fax. 707 942 5037
[email protected]
NADALIÉ USA, it’s also...
WBM April 2014 19
Using Oak Adjuncts With Barrels
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Main Advantages for Using Alternatives
in Conjunction with Barrels
1) Cost reduction: even factoring in the additional labor, alternatives are
very much cheaper than new barrels.
2) Essentially the same level of micro-oxidation as traditional élevage.
3) Easily allows for variations in oak exposure (type, toast, amount).
4) Allows the winemaker to adjust the amount of oak exposure during
élevage—more oak can be added as needed or most of the in-barrel
adjuncts can be removed once the desired level of oak extraction has
been reached (the latter is tricky in practice, however).
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Main Disadvantages of Using Alternatives in
Conjunction with Barrels
1) Requires additional labor.
2) The in-barrel alternatives effectively lower the capacity of the barrel by
anywhere from 1 to 2 gallons.
3) Used, empty, barrels.
Types of Oak Alternatives Used in
Conjunction with Barrels
Barrel Inserts
Definition: Inserts are thin slats of toasted oak that are mounted on the
inside of the barrel.
Advantages: Require little to no special handling once installed. Most
inserts allow the barrel to be cleaned as normal.
Disadvantages: A barrel-head has to be removed for installation. Labor-
intensive to install but there should be little to no extra labor required to
maintain inserts during élevage.
Recommendations: Be sure to include the labor costs when
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20 April 2014 WBM
www.cantoncooperage.com
comparing prices.
INNERSTAVE
Barrel inserts require little to no special handling once installed.
Oak Sticks
Definition: Essentially these are oak sticks or slats that are narrow enough
to fit through a barrel bung hole and linked together.
Advantages: Flexible, easy to install, easy to remove.
Disadvantages: Oak stick systems have few disadvantages other than those
intrinsic to using a barrel alternative (specifically they displace some wine
and therefore lower the capacity of the barrel, albeit slightly).
Recommendations: These are my go-to, in-barrel oak adjuncts because
they are so easy to use. In my opinion, the larger size makes them best
suited for use later during élevage when the winemaker is looking to tune
the amount of oak expressed, but honestly they can be used anytime during
barrel-aging. Natural Selection
MEETS
Intelligent Design
The evolution of the oak Infusion Spiral™
Blocks are easy to add to
the barrel. The winemaker
controls the amount and type
of oak added to each barrel.
SEGUIN MOREAU NAPA COOPERAGE
begins with slow-growing oak trees—
selected for the right grain and extractives.
After two years of air seasoning, constant quality inspection, precision
shaping and exacting convection oven toasting, the development of one
of winemaking’s most intelligent tools is complete.
For winemakers who demand elegant, barrel-quality French or American
oak without the cost, space, or hassle of new barrels, the Infusion Spiral
offers:
• Optimized
exposure of side and cross grain surface areas that
extract in six weeks
• Tidy, variable-dosage thru-bung-hole barrel sets for easy
control of oak contribution
• Available tank sets for lowest oak cost per gallon
The oak alternative has come a long way since the chip.
It’s advanced to the Infusion Spiral.
(805) 712-4471
InfusionSpiral.com
Contact Len Napolitano
Oak Infusion Spiral
Proudly made in the USA
[email protected]
Patent#7357069
WBusMonthly.Ad.indd 1
The Oak Alternative, Evolved
3/26/12 2:44 PM
WBM April 2014 21
Using Oak Adjuncts With Barrels
Infusion Tubes (includes bags)
Definition: “Infusion tubes” simply are a mesh tube with
a small enough diameter to fit through the bung hole of
the barrel. They are filled with oak chips, beads or small
blocks and function somewhat like a tea infuser.
Advantages: Extremely flexible. Allows the winemaker a
great deal of control of the type and amount of oak used.
Disadvantages: Restricted by geometry. Generally has
one-third of extractable oak as a new barrel (however, this
may be considered an advantage). Exact amount depends
on the chip size used, with larger chips or “beads” having
less surface area and packing into the tube less efficiently.
Recommendations: In my opinion, infusion tubes are best
used as soon as the wine goes to barrel. Some winemakers
feel that the smaller chip size means that it takes a bit
longer for the oak to integrate into the wine. I’m not so sure
myself; but if I’m using infusion tubes, I like to do it early
because an infuser puts less than a new-barrel-equivalent
of oak into the wine. If done early during élevage, I have
the time to let the oak extract from the chips in the tube
but still have enough time for a second, third or fourth
round of fresh chip extraction while the wine is in barrel. WBM-DullDazzle-halfpg2011.pdf
22 April 2014 WBM
1
2/11/11
8:22 PM
THE BARREL MILL
Extremely flexible, infusion tubes allow the winemaker a great deal of control of the
type and amount of oak used.
photo taken at St. Francis Winery
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Using Oak Adjuncts With Barrels
Loose Oak Chips, Blocks, Beads & Beans
Definition: The terminology gets a bit fuzzy between the various oak alter-
native vendors, but generally the term “chip” only refers to rough chunks of
oak whereas blocks, beads and beans are all terms used to refer to small, but
more regular, cubes of oak. Because of their rougher surfaces, chips should
have more surface area for a given size.
Advantages: Easy to add to the barrel. The winemaker controls the amount
and type of oak added to each barrel.
Disadvantages: Can clog or jam small pumps.
Recommendations: Always use a pump with a large enough bore to pass any
accidentally ingested chips if one is using loose oak alternatives in the barrel.
TONNELLERIE RADOUX
Reconditioned Barrels
Definition: Reconditioned barrels are another alternative to buying new
barrels. Typically, although not always, the winery sends used barrels out for
reconditioning. During reconditioning, the inner surface of the used barrel
is removed to expose oak from which the extractable tannins have not yet
been depleted. The barrel is then re-toasted and reused.
Advantages: Reconditioning is cheaper than buying new barrels. It extends
the extractive life of the barrel for another one to three years. Reconditioned
barrels also gain rather than lose capacity. No additional material in the
barrel to get in the way of winery operations.
Disadvantages: Perhaps the most labor-intensive barrel alternative;
however, the cost of the labor is often included in the price since barrelreconditioning is usually sold as a service rather than as a product. Be sure
to keep this in mind when comparison shopping; the price difference may
be much less than it seems. Unlikely to completely remove spoilage microbes
even though re-toasting the barrels should greatly reduce the microbial
population inside the barrel.
Recommendations: Inspect barrels before sending them out for recon-
ditioning. Discard any barrels with off-odors before sending them to be
reconditioned. After reconditioning, the barrel staves should have enough
material left to be used Do not stack on top of reconditioned barrels more
than four high.
PAST
Don’t Fear the Adjuncts
FUTURE
Safe and precise for your fermentation and for your crew.
For more information contact your sales representative
or email us at [email protected]
24 April 2014 WBM
I find that using in-barrel oak adjuncts to be an efficient way to maximize
the useful life of barrels in the winery. This should lower the cost to produce
a given wine. Lower costs may be the reason driving barrel adjunct use, but
I find the sheer flexibility of oak type, toast and amount that they give to be
the reason that they have a place in my winemaking repertoire even when
making higher-priced wines. WBM